It is the best kept secret, many people simply don't know even though it has been around since 1942!
PREMARIN® (conjugated estrogens tablets, USP) is used after menopause to reduce moderate to severe hot flashes and to treat moderate to severe dryness, itching, and burning in or around the vagina. PREMARIN 0.625 mg and above are also used to help reduce a woman’s chances of getting osteoporosis (thin, weak bones).
Premarin is named after its main ingredient, the urine of pregnant mares—hence the name PREgnant MARes’ urINe. (PMU)
Premarin was the first hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drug to hit the market. Premarin was first marketed in 1942 to alleviate the symptoms of menopause in women. Today, Premarin is still the most popular HRT drug, and one of the most prescribed drugs in the world. In 1975, Premarin became Wyeth's best selling drug. It was also the 5th best seller in the nation.
Today over 10 million American women currently take Premarin to treat the symptoms of menopause, making it the biggest selling pharmaceutical drug in the U.S. and delivering more than $1 billion in annual revenues to its maker, Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories (a subsidiary of American Home Products).
Two other menopausal drugs, Prempro and Premphase, also contain horse urine as their main ingredient and are produced by Wyeth-Ayerst. These drugs differ from Premarin because they contain progestins for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).
Wyeth-Ayerst isn't the only company out there manufacturing Premarin, Natural Biologics has made Minnisota the PMU capital of the United States. Wyeth- News & Announcements ~~ Natural Biologics, LLC. has lost it's court battle with Wyeth. September, 2003 - they do plan to appeal.
With staggering numbers of mares, literally thousands, being bred each year in the United States and Canada to produce Premarin........
The Premarin industry has been in place for over thirty years and provided a lot of benefits to women world-wide. It is not going to go away. It is our wish to work with them in a friendly manner to help these babies find homes.
Approximately two-thirds of the foals remain on the PMU ranches or are sold for riding, showing, drafting, and breeding. The remaining foals are eventually sold on the international meat market after they reach maturity on feedlots. In Canada, inspectors enforce the Health of Animals Act and the Meat Inspection Act to guarantee humane transport to and handling at slaughter. USDA inspectors enforce the Humane Slaughter Act in America. What needs to happen here is that the companies collecting the money for the drugs being made by the mares who in turn have foals need to mandate that these babies are given the opportunity for life- they should contract with Rescues and private parties and not be able to breed the mares until they have a contract to ensure a home for the baby.
The North American Equine Ranching Information Council represents those engaged in PMU farming. They have developed an incentive program to improve the marketing of the PMU offspring. "NAERIC will match, dollar for dollar, up to one million, payouts awarded to approved horses when they are successful in designated competitions throughout North America," according to their website, www.naeric.org. The Council also runs the North American Breeding Enhancement Program, which acquires or leases thoroughbred stallions to breed to the draft mares, creating foals for the sport horse market. A NAERIC spokeswoman says, "Now we are competition [for people who breed horses]. There is no monetary incentive to send a foal to slaughter." "If people can be educated about the alternatives available to Premarin, there is the solution," says Stringfield. There are several synthetic estrogen replacement drugs on the market, but none are as widely prescribed as Premarin.